Yu Sui remained crouched on the ground, barely lifting his eyelids.
He was too lazy to move, preferring to sit on the ground and wait for the other person to finish cooling off and come back.
Liang Wen held the fortune stick container, shaking it vigorously until a stick jumped out and clattered to the flour. The crowd cheered and surged forward.
With his sharp eyesight, Yu Sui glimpsed two characters on the stick: “Bi xian.”1筆仙 (bǐ xiān) is often associated with supernatural beliefs and is sometimes viewed with caution or superstition due to its association with summoning spirits. It is similar in concept to a Ouija board.
“…” Seriously? That’s what he managed to shake out?
Holding a bottle, he silently stood up and slipped away.
Nearby, a group of friends with children were having a gathering—likely three families—with kids of various ages playing together. The two of the youngest were lying on the floor, pulling each other’s hair.
Yu Sui sat nearby, a bowl and chopsticks in hand, watching them playfully tug each other’s hair.
Class 3 formed a circle on the ground, setting out paper and pens.
The night was dim, and the group was so excited that they didn’t even notice when one or two people were missing at first.
The two kids stopped pulling hair and started tugging Yu Sui’s pants instead. He let them hold onto him, calmly continuing his meal.
“Don’t pull my pants down, or I’ll grab you,” he warned the kids, then suddenly looked up and saw someone, who seemed about to leave, turning back.
Yan Xiu had no interest in bi xian. He scanned the area, failed to spot Yu Sui, and frowned.
Pulling out his phone, he started to walk away, typing a message with just two characters when someone grabbed his clothes.
“Looking for me?” Yu Sui looked up, flashing Yan Xiu a bright grin.
The young master was fair as jade, handsome as Pan An, with a mouth smeared in chili oil. Setting down his bowl, he pulled a tissue from his pocket, elegantly wiped away the stain, and kept his grip on Yan Xiu—looking ready to settle scores now that he was full.
“…”
Yan Xiu tugged at his clothes, seemingly ready to leave once he confirmed Yu Sui was still alive.
But Yu Sui wasn’t about to let him slip away again. Dodging the kids, he grabbed Yan Xiu’s shoulders and pounced on his back, arms tight around Yan Xiu’s face, forcing him to bend over and hold onto a nearby stool.
“I have one more question,” Yu Sui said. “Was it you who delivered fruit to my place during summer vacation?”
“Get down first,” Yan Xiu replied calmly, trying to pry him off.
Yu Sui didn’t budge. “Answer first.”
Yan Xiu immediately said, “No.”
“…”
Yu Sui slapped his arm, his tone fierce: “Say that again? Who else but you would wear a hat and mask to look cool in the middle of a heatwave?”
“…”
Yan Xiu, his face expressionless, forcefully pulled Yu Sui off his back. They stumbled towards the kids, arms around each other’s shoulders, bending down to glare at each other in a standoff.
After a moment, Yan Xiu seemed to give in. He turned away with a look of exasperation, as if even glancing at Yu Sui gave him a headache: “That was from Ms. Tang.”
“Who?” Yu Sui was confused.
Yan Xiu: “My mom.”
Yu Sui: “…”
Yu Sui had always ignored the existence of that family’s older brother, let alone the couple he’d only glimpsed once at this doorstep—he never bothered asking their names.
If Yuan Yu hadn’t mentioned that Yan family was related to Yan Ying, Yu Sui wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
The Yan family—how rare. In the entire grade, only the disciplinary committee head bore that surname.
That realization had left Yu Sui utterly stunned.
He finally released Yan Xiu, rubbing his neck as he stretched, and clicked his tongue: “You should have just admitted it earlier. I wasn’t going to do anything to you—why go through all the trouble of pretending to be a ghost?”
Yan Xiu’s lips parted slightly, wanting to explain.
In the first place, he hadn’t intended to hide it from Yu Sui. Who could have guessed that their information was mismatched? He knew Yu Sui, but Yu Sui didn’t know him.
But then he suddenly felt that since things had already come to this, there was no need to say more. So, he closed his mouth again, looking utterly speechless.
In Class 3, where everyone had been playing with the bi xian by themselves, a girl blushed and asked, “Is it possible that Yu Sui and Yan Xiu might actually end up together?” It was then that everyone realized the two had mysteriously disappeared.
“Yes,” Yi Tian whispered in reply. “Aren’t they together right now? They’ve been over there keeping the kids company for quite a while.”
With that, they tossed the pens aside, ignoring all the bi xian stuff, and pounced on the two of them, dragging them back to play cards.
Tang Bohu had always complained that the games he played weren’t exciting enough, so he introduced the “King’s Game” he’d learned at a bar. The rules were simple: each round, cards were dealt, and the person who drew the King randomly called out two card numbers, assigning a penalty to those two people.
The ‘naive’ high school students exchanged awkward glances, feeling rather embarrassed.
Yu Sui lifted his eyes and exchanged a look with Yan Xiu, once again feeling the urge to slip away again.
Yu Sui had played this game before. Back in middle school, the school organized a trip that took twelve hours by train.
That night, some students were too excited to sleep and squeezed into a small space between train cars to play King’s Game.
The junior high students had sneaked alcohol, hiding it from the teachers, and ended up drinking until they were tipsy—rowdily playing the game.
With the alcohol taking effect, the group of kids went wild. The student holding the King card stood up and immediately ordered, “Card X and Card Y, kiss!”
Although Yu Sui was sociable and adaptable, influenced by Yu Zhen’s constant admonitions, he was actually quite conservative at heart, often feeling like an outsider on the fringe.
At one point, the student next to him didn’t even check his card and turned to try to kiss Yu Sui. Yu Sui dodged and moved far away.
From then on, he drew another line in his personal boundaries. And now, with him and Yan Xiu—both naturally prone to being teased—were sitting together; it was easy to imagine what might happen later.
Yu Sui put down his cards: “Not playing.”
Yang Feiwen nudged him with his elbow: “Just one round?”
Yu Sui glanced around at these people, who were clearly setting a trap for him, and silently swirled his glass.
Yan Xiu wiped his hands with a tissue, looking ready to get up and leave if Yu Sui said he wouldn’t play.
Tang Bohu held a deck of cards, shuffling them back and forth, waiting for Yu Sui to speak.
“Alright.” Yu Sui didn’t want to spoil their fun. As long as the jokes didn’t go too far, he was usually easygoing. “No need to deal with the cards. What do you want me and Yan Xiu to do?”
The others froze for a moment.
Yu Sui glanced at the cards in Tang Bohu’s hand and gestured politely: “How many times have I played games with you all? Did you really think you could pull this trick on me?”
Yan Xiu tilted his head to look at Yu Sui, frowning slightly.
The atmosphere grew tense. Yang Feiwen said directly, “I told you not to use such low-level tricks! How boring! It was all Hu Zi’s stupid idea.”
“Again, it’s my stupid idea?” Tang Bohu protested. “It was clearly you…”
Yi Tian was the first one to apologize, looking around awkwardly. “It was me who said I’d never seen you two hug…”
After all that roundabout effort just to get two to hug, Yi Tian was so embarrassed she wished she could vanish on the spot.
The group had a knack of sharing awkwardness, as they coughed one after another.
But their discomfort and wild thoughts weren’t over yet when they heard Yu Sui say, “We hugged him.”
One of his arms was pressed against Yan Xiu’s. Amidst the noise, he appeared calm and quiet, even joking with Yi Tian, ”If you can’t even catch the official sugar, maybe you should just stop shipping us.”
The others hadn’t expected him to bring it up himself. They were stunned for a moment, then all groaned in unison.
“Don’t act so smug,” Yang Feiwen said, unable to bear the sight. “I feel like if you keep showing off for a few more days, I’ll jump the ship. You’re too arrogant. Besides, you didn’t even ask if the disciplinary committee minds joining in the fun.”
Yu Sui, perhaps because he’d had a few drinks, boldly nudged Yan Xiu: “Do you mind?”
Normally, he would at most tease him and then retreat, but this time, after asking, his eyes lingered on Yan Xiu for a while.
Yan Xiu: “…”
He pushed Yu Sui’s hand, straightened the crooked red string on Yu Sui’s wrist, and coldly glanced at the bottles on the table. He seemed reluctant to answer the question, and Yu Sui didn’t press him further.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Yang Feiwen immediately ran away.
They didn’t stay out too late that day. Just after 10 PM, phones began ringing once after another with calls from concerned parents.
Yu Sui’s promise not to drink had become a bitter pill he swallowed.
By the end, Yu Sui had drunk so much he felt bloated. After a trip to the restroom, he returned to his seat and slumped into a daze.
Almost everyone’s phone had rung once, except Yu Sui’s and Yan Xiu’s didn’t.
Yu Sui had told Yuan Yu earlier that he’d be home late. He slowly turned to look at Yan Xiu, who seemed equally calm.
“Alright, alright, I know! Don’t lock the door—I’m getting on the subway now. Gotta go!” Yang Feiwen shouted into his phone, then quickly turned to Yu Sui. “Sui’er, if my mom calls you, remember to tell her I’m on my way home.”
But Yang Feiwen didn’t get a response. He turned back, puzzled. “Sui’er?”
“He’s drunk,” Yan Xiu said.
Yang Feiwen let out an “ah,” looking distressed. “What do we do then?”
Just as Yang Feiwen expected, Yu Sui’s phone rang. Although the young master ignored Yang Feiwen, he was familiar with the routine. He answered Yang Feiwen’s mom with a couple of “mm-hmmms” and said, “Awen left a long time ago.”
Yang Feiwen gave Yu Sui a thumbs up.
The young master nodded primly, remaining silent. At this moment, he wasn’t in the mood to engage with anyone.
But when Yan Xiu reached out to clear empty bottles in front of Yu Sui, the young master moved. He grabbed Yan Xiu’s wrist, his dark eyes fixed on him: “What are you doing?”
“They’re all empty. I’m throwing them away for you,” Yan Xiu said calmly, trying to brush him off.
Yu Sui’s lips twitched. And after a long pause, he slowly asked, “Do you think I lost my mind?”
Yan Xiu: “…No.”
He couldn’t admit to that.
That day, Yan Xiu had taken Yu Sui home. This time, Yu Sui’s condition was much worse than last time—he had to stop and catch his breath after every few steps.
This was the first time Yan Xiu had entered the Yu family home, yet Yuan Yu actually recognized him.
Yuan Yu wouldn’t let Yan Xiu go home so late at night after dropping someone off. She muttered to herself while making a call to Tang Ying, then returning two minutes later with Tang Ying’s approval.
She and the family’s auntie prepared a guest room for Yan Xiu.
It was clear that the Yu family frequently entertained guests—everything in the room had been recently changed.
Perhaps because Yan Xiu was there, and both children had returned reeking of alcohol, Yuan Yu, though not entirely pleased, didn’t say anything at that moment.
The guest room was right next to Yu Sui’s, very close by.
Yan Xiu leaned helplessly against the doorframe, watching Yu Sui enter the room. He then waited until Yuan Yu and the auntie went downstairs to prepare hangover soup before returning to their guest room.
The Yu family was very hospitable; several sets of men’s pajamas and sweatshirts were placed in the room.
The style clearly indicated they were taken from Yu Sui’s wardrobe.
Yan Xiu was actually a bit taller than Yu Sui, so Yu Sui’s pants reached just above his ankles, revealing a section of his legs.
After washing up, Yan Xiu bent down to fold the pant legs slightly, then stood up to grab his phone charging on the bedside table.
There was a knock on the door.
Yan Xiu assumed it was one of the Yu family’s housekeepers coming up to deliver something, but when he opened the door, he was met with Yu Sui’s face.
Only a nightlight lit in the hallway. Yu Sui had just showered, his hair still dripping as he dried it with a towel.
He seemed to have sobered up. He glanced at Yan Xiu and said, “I need to tell you something.”
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1